Not As It Seems
by x.Deni.x
Summary: Hermione parents die, and she has no living relatives. She has to be adopted, and the Ministry refuses to let the Weasley's adopt her. So who adopts her...? SNAPE! Draco/Hermione eventually. /HIATUS/
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one:**

My name is Hermione Granger, and I'm 16. I attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My best friends are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.

My parents just died, in a plane crash, while they were on their way home from Australia.

I have no living relatives to look after me, and because I am underage, I need someone.

The stupid Ministry has forbidden the Weasley's to adopt me, because they 'have too many children as it is.' How stupid is that?!

Any families that want to adopt kids don't want a 16 year old female teenager.

I was in my parent's house, all alone, at night, when there was a knock on the door. I hesitantly opened the door, and gasped.

Standing in front of me was Minister Fudge, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor Snape.

"Um, hello?" I said, eyebrows raised.

"Good evening Miss Granger. Could we come in?" Dumbledore asked politely.

"Sure…" I said, opening the door for them, and leading them into the sitting room.

"Thank you Miss Granger." Fudge said cordially.

Snape merely nodded his head. Greasy git.

Once we were all seated, I said "Professors, Minister, what is this all about?"

"Due to the unfortunate death of your parents, you know that you are in need of a guardian." Fudge began.

"Because the Ministry denied the Weasley's to adopt you, you currently have no guardian." Dumbledore said.

"Yes, I knew this already sir…" I said, trying to sound polite.

"We have found a guardian for you." Dumbledore said simply.

My jaw dropped, "Who?!"

"Me." Snape said.

My jaw dropped even lower, if that was possible. Severus Snape, my professor, is going to ADOPT me?!

I was starting to panic, "But, isn't there anyone else? Why would he even want to adopt me? He hates me!" Yep, I was panicking.

"No there isn't anyone else, and it was actually his idea to adopt you." Fudge said, shifting in his seat.

"And hate is a very strong word Miss Granger." Snape put in, quietly.

My mouth was opening and closing like a fish.

"Your neighbours are selling this house tomorrow, are they not?" Dumbledore asked me.

"Y-yes." I replied.

"Well, if you would be so kind to do so, could you quickly pack your bags and whatnot, and prepare to leave so you can get familiarised with your new guardian and new home." Dumbledore said.

I nodded faintly, and made my way upstairs. This cannot be happening to me.

Ten minutes later, my trunk was packed with pretty much everything in my room, except the furniture.

I heaved it down the stairs, and back into the sitting room.

With a flick of Snape's wand, my trunk vanished.

"I sent it to Spinners End." Snape explained.

I nodded dumbly.

"Well, if that is all, I think Cornelius and I will leave the two of you to it. Goodbye Miss Granger, Severus." Dumbledore said warmly, and he walked out of the door and apparated away, Fudge not far behind.

"Come along Miss Granger." Snape said politely, and we left the house without further ado.

"You can not apparate yet, correct?" He asked me.

"No Professor." I replied.

"Hold onto my arm, tightly, then." He said, offering me his arm.

I grimaced slightly, but grabbed it anyway.

With a spin, and a pull, we arrived in front of a vaguely gloomy house.

"Welcome to Spinners End." Snape said, and he opened the front door.

Inside, it was much warmer, and cheerful, than it looked outside.

I smiled.

"I'll show you to your room Miss Granger." Snape said, smiling slightly.

Oh Merlin. SNAPE SMILED. SNAPE NEVER SMILES. ARGH! I MUST BE CORRUPTING HIM! Eh, I can't complain. A happy Snape HAS to be better than a mean Snape.

Spinners End was quite a large, one-story house. Snape led me to the back of the home, and opened a large black door.

I gasped at what was inside.

It was a very, very large, perfectly square room, with beige walls, and golden, brown wooden floor. There was a large king size bed, on the opposite wall of which the door was. The bed, I might add, had red and gold sheets. How thoughtful. The frame was black. There was a large dresser on the right side of the room, and on the left, there was a table, with a majestic chair. Light brown, wooden shelves adorned the walls.

"Do you like it?" Snape asked me.

"Yes, it's brilliant sir!" I exclaimed.

"I'm glad." Snape said, and then he added, "I know that I am now your adoptive father, but I do not expect you to call me father or dad. I know how hard it is to call someone mum or dad, who isn't your biological parent. I do, however, expect you to call me Severus. We are outside of school, and I am now your guardian. I don't want to be called Professor, or sir. Just Severus, Miss Granger."

I smiled, "Okay Severus, but I expect you to call me Hermione." Yeah I can play that game too.

Severus grinned, and genuine grin, "Not a problem Hermione."

I smiled again. This isn't so bad.

"If you are ready, we will go to the dining room for dinner." Severus said.

I nodded, and followed him back to the dining room, where we sat across from each other. Three minutes later, three house elves came out; two carrying plates filled with the most delicious looking food, and the third carrying two goblets.

I scowled at the enslavement.

Severus laughed at me, "I know of your S.P.E.W campaign, and I would like you to know that my three house elves get paid six galleons a week, each, and the only thing they do without command is prepare food. They are free to leave as they wish, but must return upon hearing their names."

I smiled appreciatively.

The three house elves all stood side by side. The first had very large ears, and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a light pink and black tartan skirt that fell above her knees, and a black blouse. The second elf had large, brown eyes, and a fuzz of grey hair on top of his head. He was wearing a pair of makeshift black slacks and a light green singlet. The third elf was wearing a dress. She looked absolutely adorable. It was yellow and pink, and fell to her knees.

"Please meet Deebi, Bo and Keelee." Severus said, addressing the elves, "I have assigned Keelee to you. She is now yours, though I still pay her."

"Thank you so much Severus." I said, meaning in. Keelee was just the most adorable thing you had ever seen.

"Nice to meet you Miss!" All three elves said at once.

"The pleasure's all mine." I said, smiling at the beaming elves.

"Dig in." Severus said to me, and I started eating. The dinner was wonderful.

"My godson will be coming tomorrow to stay for the remainder of the holidays. His parents are away, and unable to look after him." Severus told me, obviously not wanting to say who it was yet.

"Okay." Was all I said.

"Also, there is a Ball that I have to go to tomorrow night. My godson is going to go, and it would be great if you came as well, is that okay?" Severus asked me.

I was excited; Ball's are so much fun!

"Yeah! I love Ball's!" I squealed.

Severus smiled, "That's good then. Check in your dresser, I got you a dress and accessories. The ball is semi-casual."

Okay, now I'm nervous. SEVERUS SNAPE BOUGHT ME A DRESS, AND ACCESSORIES! OH DEAR GOD! Please be a good dress, and accessories.

I nodded, and excused myself from the table, and went straight to my room. I opened the cupboard, and gasped.

The dress was beautiful.

**A/N: I will give a detailed explanation of what the dress looks like either in the next chapter or the one after, but the link to see the actual dress is on my homepage :)**

**Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two:**

I woke up late the next morning. Stretching, I somehow dragged myself out of bed, and into my shower. After having, a nice, relaxing shower, I got out, put on a dark denim mini skirt, and a white singlet, and then over the top, a light pink singlet. To finish the look off, I put on a black belt under my breasts. I put a light layer of eyeliner on, and a single swipe of mascara. Running my comb through my un-frizzy chocolate brown, curly hair, and pulled half of it back, letting a few tendrils hang over my face. Oh yeah, I looked good.

I left my room and walked into the dining room for breakfast. I sat down in the seat I was in last night, and noticed Severus wasn't there.

Keelee came up to me and said "What would Miss like for brunch? You may choose anything you like Miss."

I smiled at her, "Could I please have some pancakes with maple syrup, Keelee?"

Keelee nodded her head with a smile, and scurried off to the kitchen.

Severus then walked into the room, and sat in his chair. Bo asked him the same thing that Keelee asked me, and Severus ordered bacon and eggs.

"You look nice today." Severus then told me, although it seemed rather hesitantly.

I nearly snorted. Severus Snape was giving, me, the Gryffindor, bookworm, muggle-born, a compliment. Oh my, the world has come to an end.

"Thank you." I replied, smiling.

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence, and then went and sat down on the couches in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, waiting for Severus' godson.

"He should be arriving any minute." Severus murmured, glancing at his wrist watch.

Exactly thirty seconds later, a pale blonde haired boy emerged from the fireplace.

I gasped, "Malfoy?!"

Great. Just great… Of course. Draco Malfoy is Severus' godson. His parents are in Azkaban, so they can't look after him. JUST GREAT.

"Granger." He smirked at me. Oh how much I wanted to slap that smirk off his face.

"Draco!" Severus said, grinning. (Oh Merlin, he is GRINNING now!).

Draco grinned back and hugged his godfather.

Severus then stood up, and made Draco sit next to me. He then put on a lecturing face. I'm seriously scared.

"Now, you two," He started, "You will be living together until school starts, so I suggest you get along. I expect civility between both of you. Understand?"

Both Malfoy and I nodded our heads frantically, not wanting to get on the bad side of Severus Snape, even though I've experienced that side many, many times.

"Look, he was nice enough to take me in when I needed an adoptive parent, so I'm not going to defy his wishes." I mumbled, and I held my hand out, "Truce?"

Draco nodded, "Same here. Truce." He smiled warmly at me, and shook my hand, before pulling me forward with a gentle yet fierce tug, and kissing me on the cheek.

SWEET MOTHER OF MERLIN, DRACO MALFOY KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK.

I think I'm gonna faint. Wait, too late. The last thing I saw was Draco's worried face as I fell backwards into darkness.

I sprung open my eyes to find two worried males sitting on the end of my bed.

"Severus, Draco, what happened?" I mumbled, squinting groggily.

"You, um, fainted when I kissed you on the cheek." Draco said, and then he hung his head in shame, "Was it really that bad?" He then half-joked.

I chucked weakly, "No it wasn't. I was just shocked. You have tormented me for the last five or so years…"

Draco smiled, "Point taken."

"So how long have I been out?" I asked Severus.

"An hour." Severus replied, handing me a glass of water, which I took gratefully.

After a long draught, I said, "I guess it was just shock." I chuckled nervously.

Draco and Severus smiled.

"So..." I tried to start small-talk.

"I've actually got to go run an errand or two," Severus said, a tad uncomfortable, "Can I trust you two to say here and not explode the house whilst I'm gone?"

I put a mock appalled look on my face, matching Draco's.

"How dare you?" I scoffed.

"We'll do no such thing!" Draco jeered.

Severus's thin lips contracted in a tight smile, "I'll be off then. I'll be back around two hours before we have to leave for the Ball."

"Bye bye." Draco and I said in unison, and then we looked at each other and laughed.  
"So what do you want to do?" I asked Draco.

"It's pretty hot outside… We could go for a swim in the lake down the road?" Draco suggested.

I contemplated for a moment, "That's actually a good idea. I feel like swimming."

I stood up, "I need to get changed into my swimmers. I'll meet you in the sitting room?"

Draco nodded, and left the room.

I sighed happily, and dug through my drawers until I found my swimmers. Quickly putting them on, I grabbed a towel and skipped downstairs and found Draco in the sitting room.

I nearly gasped. He was in nothing but a pair of sky blue board shorts that really brought out his eyes. He was a pale boy, but nonetheless, toned and muscled. I felt giddy looking at him.

He must've been thinking along the same lines as me, but about myself, as his mouth was opening and closing like a fish and he was giving me a look all over.

I was wearing a yellow triangle bikini top, with a silver starfish on only one of the triangles. The bottoms were silver, with a yellow starfish on the left side of the front, and on the right side of my bum.

I cleared my throat shyly, and his head whipped up to look at my face.

He chuckled nervously, "Let's go then?"

I nodded, smiling, and followed him out of the house.

It was a short ten-minute walk to the lake, and we chatted non-stop on the way.

I couldn't help but feel that slightly ominous feeling of getting too close to a Slytherin. What in the world would Harry and Ron think? Ron would go off his rocker, but that is something I'm used too. Harry would be a little angry, but I think he could get used to it, and possibly even become friends with Draco. Ginny would be completely understanding, even glad, probably.

During the walk down to the lake, I learnt a lot about the infamous Draco; both his parents were true Death Eaters, and wished for him to become one as well. There was only one time when Draco actually wanted to be a Death Eater, and that was when he was a snobby, pureblood prejudiced boy in his first and second year of school.

Draco thought of Severus as the father he never had – Severus always steered him in the right direction and gave him advice when needed.

I find it very comforting that he can open up like this to me, despite our history. Just as he finished his story, we reached the edge of the lake.

Draco turned and looked me in the eyes, his hand slowly inching towards me. He licked his lips, and tilted his head in.

**A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAH! Yes I am EVIL! EVIL I TELLS YOU! CLIFFFIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! =D**

**Anyways, review please, add to your story alert, favourite it, you know, all that jazz, and I'll be happy.**

**Next chapter should be up in around a week. It's not written yet, and I still have my other story that needs another chapter up.**

**Thanks!**


	3. On hiatus

Hey everyone.

I seem to have lost inspiration, and interest, in this story.

I have rapidly become obsessed with Twilight, and I am working on a few Twilight fics at the moment.

I just cannot think of anything for this story, so, for however long it takes me to get the inspiration back, this story is on HIATUS.

I MIGHT give it up for adoption, so if anyone's interested, leave a review.

Sorry.


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